Device for collecting and selectively dispensing a flowable substance

ABSTRACT

A device for draining a flowable substance such as ketchup in partly filled bottles into a receptacle and filling a bottle with ketchup collected in the receptacle includes a receptacle open at its top and including a holder for holding one or more partly filled bottles in draining position. A discharge valve in the bottom of the receptacle serves to fill a bottle placed underneath the receptacle by temporarily opening the valve.

O Umted States Patent [151 3,643,704

Carr Feb. 22, 1972 [54] DEVICE FOR COLLECTING AND 2,059,997 11/1936 Kaestner 141/106 X SELECTIVELY DISPENSING A 1,655,533 l/l928 Campagna .....222/l 85 X FLOWABLE SUBSTANCE 3,286,849 1 H1966 Dominos ..l4l/l06 X [72] Inventor: William G. Carr, Brooklyn, N.Y. FOREIGN PATENTS 0R APPLICATIONS 73 Assigncc; sw [mu Levinown, 365,492 l/l932 Great Britain [41/364 Fiicdl 1970 Primary Examiner-Samuel F. Coleman [2 l APPL 14,410 Attameyl-lane, Baxley & Spiecens 57 ABSTRACT '8' A device for draining a flowable substance such as ketchup in [58] i 364 222/185 partly filled bottles into a receptacle and filling a bottle with 232/1 6 43 ketchup collected in the receptacle includes a receptacle open at its top and including a holder for holding one or more partly filled bottles in draining position. A discharge valve in the bot- [56] References cued tom of the receptacle serves to fill a bottle placed underneath UNITED STATES PATENTS the receptacle by temporarily opening the valve.

1,861,619 6/1932 Bellmer ..l4l/l06 X 5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures DEVICE FOR COLLECTING AND SELECTIVELY DISPENSING A FLOWABLE SUBSTANCE The invention relates to a device for transferring a flowable substance such as a liquid or a granulated material from one container to another container, and more particularly, to a device for filling a container such as a bottle from the contents of one or more partly emptied bottles.

BACKGROUND It is customary in eating establishments of all types and also in homes to offer condiments such as ketchup, mustard, syrup, sugar, salt, etc., in containers such as bottles, jars, cans, etc. It is also customary to replace a partly emptied container by a full one, partly for reasons of appearance and partly because the smaller the remaining content of a bottle is the slower the bottle will drain. Such slow outflow of the desired quantity of the liquid or other substance contained in the bottle or other container tends to be a source of irritation to the user.

A similar problem exists with many flowable substances used for other than food purposes. It is, for instance, more convenient to use a substantially filled paint can than a nearly empty one, or to take measured quantities of a granular substance from a substantially full container than to scrape the bottom of a nearly emptied container.

Obviously, it would be a great waste of product and money to dispose of useful quantities of the substance remaining in partly emptied bottles or other containers. There are not now available convenient and sanitary devices for transferring the contents of, for instance, a partly emptied bottle to another bottle. in practice, the most popular method is to place two bottles upright and neck to neck. This method is time consuming and hence costly, and is also quite messy, as unavoidably some of the contents will spill out between the necks of the two bottles. Moreover, as the bottles are joined at their necks a slight vacuum tends to be formed and the resulting lack of air pressure slows the out-flow from the upper bottle into the lower bottle. There is also the danger that the bottles may fall over and break or even worse, become chipped and pieces of glass fall into the lower bottle.

It is a broad object of the invention to provide a novel and improved device for collecting flowable contents of one or more partly emptied containers such as bottles in a storage receptacle and dispensing the collected substance at a controlled rate of discharge to fill a bottle or other container placed underneath the receptacle.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved device of the general kind above referred to for draining one or more partly emptied bottles or other containers containing a liquid or other flowable substance into a receptacle and filling a bottle or other container placed underneath the receptacle with the liquid or other substance collected in the receptacle by temporarily opening a discharge valve communicating with the receptacle.

Another more specific object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved device of the general kind above referred to, a storage receptacle of which includes means for holding one or more bottles or other containers in a position in which the bottles or other containers freely and completely drain into the receptacle.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved device of the general kind above referred to, a storage receptacle of which can be conveniently and tightly closed to protect the liquid or other substance collected in the receptacle until it is used to fill other bottles or containers from the receptacle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The aforepointed out objects. features and advantages, and other objects, features and advantages which will be pointed out hereinafter and are set forth in the appended claims, are obtained by providing a preferably barrel or drum-shaped storage receptacle open at the top. A holder serves to hold one or more bottles in positions in which all the bottles held by the holder will freely and completely drain into the receptacle. The holder is supported by the receptacle preferably so that the top level of the holder does not or at least cannot substantially protrude above the top rim of the receptacle. This has the advantage that the device when not in use can be conveniently closed by a lid. Discharge of collected liquid is effected by opening a valve provided in the bottom of the receptacle. The receptacle is supported by legs of preferably adjustable length at a height such that a bottle to be filled can be placed underneath the receptacle in alignment with the discharge opening of the valve.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION In the accompanying drawing, a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown by way of illustration and not by way of limitation.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the device according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view similar to FIG. 1, but with the lid of the device removed and partly in section, to show the internal structure of the device;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view upon the top of the holder of the device; and

FIG. 4 is an exploded bottom perspective view of the discharge valve of the device.

The exemplified device is designed specifically for draining bottles having an elongate neck portion such as bottles widely used as ketchup bottles. However, as previously pointed out, the concept of the invention is not limited either to a specific type of containers or to specific contents thereof. As is evident, the concept of the invention can be readily adapted to many types of containers for a flowable substance be it a liquid or a granulated material, for instance salt or sugar.

Referring now to the figures more in detail, the device 10 as exemplified comprises a receptacle 11, a bottle holder or rack 12, a discharge valve 13 and a lid 14. The receptacle as shown is of drum or barrel-shape and open at the top; it may be made of any suitable material such as sheet metal, plastic such as polypropylene, or glass. Lengthwise ribs 11a may be provided to strengthen the receptacle and also to facilitate gripping of the same.

The receptacle is supported by legs 15 which are preferably detachably secured at the bottom end of the receptacle, for instance, by inserting the legs into sleeves 16 which may be molded to the body of the receptacle. The legs support the receptacle at a height such that a bottle 22 having an elongate neck 22a can be conveniently placed underneath the receptacle of the device for a purpose which will be more fully explained hereinafter. Exchangeability of the legs permits convenient adaptation of the clearance below the device to hottles or other containers of different height by using legs of suitable length. The length of the legs themselves can, of course, be made adjustable in a conventional manner, for instance, by using telescoping legs.

Bottle holder or rack 12 is preferably a one-piece structure and may be formed by molding plastic, for instance polypropylene, or stamping sheet metal. The holder comprises a circular outer wall portion 17 and a circular inner wall portion 18 joined by an annular intermediate wall portion 20. As is shown, wall 17 is inwardly tapered with reference to the center axis of the receptacle and wall 18 is outwardly tapered so that the walls define oppositely disposed frustoconical structures. The inner wall 18 is reinforced by a platform area 19 and annular wall 20 includes a number of openings 21, the peripheral outlines of which are so dimensioned that passage of bottle 22 is limited to the desired depth, as it is indicated in FIG. 2. The annular space defined by walls 17, 18, and 20 is divided by generally radial partition walls 23 into a number of compartments each including one of the openings 21.

As can best be seen in FIG. 2, the slants of walls 17, 18 and 20 are so correlated that bottles 22 extended with their necks 22a through openings 21 are automatically held in the positions shown in this figure, that is, in positions in which the bottles define acute angles with the center axis of receptacle 11. As is evident, bottles or other containers held in such positions will completely drain and in particular, very little if any residual liquid will be trapped at the bottom of the bottles, The same result can, of course, also be obtained if the slants of the holder walls are so correlated that the bottles are held so as to define an acute angle with the side walls of the receptacle.

As it is also best shown in FIG. 2, the top wall 19 of the holder 12 is substantially flush with the rim of the receptacle. The holder is detachably supported in the receptacle by an outwardly extending peripheral flange 24 resting upon the receptacle rim. A bayonet lock formed by L-shaped slots 25 in flange 24 and lugs 26 protruding from the receptacle, or another suitable fastening means may be provided to attach the holder to the receptacle.

A holder which is flush with the top level of the receptacle or only slightly protruding therefrom has the advantage that lid 14 used to cover the receptacle when the device is not in use may be rather flat.

The receptacle has a preferably dished bottom wall 30. This bottom wall may include, as shown, a recessed catch basin 3] so that all liquid drained into the receptacle will eventually accumulate in a comparatively small space and can thus be conveniently and completely discharged from the receptacle. The bottom of the catch basin 31 is preferably detachable from the side walls of the basin to facilitate cleaning of the device and also to vary the size of the discharge opening of the receptacle, if this should become desirable. For this purpose, a bottom plate 32 is provided which is detachably secured to the wall of the basin by screws 34. Plate 32 includes a spoutlike discharge port 33. Opening and closing of this spout is effected by a slide 36 including an opening 37. This slide is guided in a pair of recesses 35 and has secured thereto a stop 38 and a finger grip 39. Opening 37 in the slide is so positioned that it is out of alignment with spout 33 when the slide is fully pulled out, that is, when stop 38 abuts against the sidewall of catch basin 31, as is shown in FIG. 2 and is in alignment with the spout when the slide is fully pushed in.

The device as hereinbefore described operates as follows:

To collect liquids such as ketchup in receptacle 11, one or more partly emptied bottles 22 are inserted into the holder, as shown in FIG. 2. When a sufficient quantity of liquid is accumulated in the receptacle, it being assumed that slide 36 is in its closed position, filling of empty or partly empty bottles may be commenced. For this purpose, a bottle is placed underneath the receptacle in alignment with spout 33, preferably so that the spout protrudes into the neck of the bottle to avoid spillage. As is shown in FIG. 2, the outer diameter of the spout should be smaller than the inner diameter of the bottle neck so that air can escape while the bottle is being filled. To effect filling ofa bottle, slide 36 is pushed in until sufficient liquid is accumulated in the bottle to be filled.

Liquid or granulated material may be safely stored in the receptacle for any reasonable period of time by closing the receptacle with lid 14.

While the invention has been described in detail with respect to a certain now preferred example and embodiment of the invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art, after understanding the invention, that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and it is intended, therefore, to cover all such changes and modifications in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A device for draining, collecting and selectively discharging a flowable substance contained in one or more bottles having a neck portion, said device comprising in combination:

a rece tacle open at its to a ho] er mounted in saitl receptacle and including means for releasably holding one or more bottles in an inverted position for draining the contents of any so held bottle into the receptacle, said holder having a central portion of circular cross section, an outer annular portion and an annular intermediate portion joining the central portion and the outer portion, said intermediate portion including openings circumferentially spaced and dimensioned to limit passage of bottles to a predetermined depth, said central portion and said outer portion including upwardly extending slanted guide walls coacting to hold a bottle ex tended with its neck portion through one of the openings in a slanted position relative to the lengthwise center axis of the receptacle;

generally radially oriented partition walls dividing an annular space defined by said center portion, said outer portion and said intermediate portion into compartments each including one of said openings, said partition walls constituting lateral guide walls for bottles inserted into said compartments and protruding through the openings;

discharge means at the bottom end of the receptacle, said discharge means including actuating means for selectively opening and closing said discharge means; and

support means secured to said receptacle for supporting the same in upright position on a support base, spaced apart therefrom.

2. The device according to claim 1 wherein said central portion comprises a continuous peripheral wall defining a generally frustoconical structure in longitudinal cross section and the outer portion comprises a continuous peripheral wall defining a generally frustoconical structure in longitudinal cross section, the narrow end of the central portion facing up wardly and the narrow end of the outer portion facing downwardly with reference to the bottom end of the receptacle, said intermediate portion being in the form of an annular ring joining the narrow end of the outer portion to the wide end of the central portion.

3. The device according to claim 2 wherein said outer portion has along the rim of its wide end a peripheral outwardly extending flange, and comprising fastening means for detachably securing said flange to the rim at the open end of the receptacle.

4. The device according to claim 1 and comprising a lid for closing the open end of the receptacle.

5. The device according to claim 1 wherein said discharge means comprise a slide valve means included in the bottom of the receptacle; said valve means including a discharge spout and a slide including an opening matching the cross-sectional area of the spout, said slide being displaceable between a position covering said spout and a position uncovering the same. 

1. A device for draining, collecting and selectively discharging a flowable substance contained in one or more bottles having a neck portion, said device comprising in combination: a receptacle open at its top; a holder mounted in said receptacle and including means for releasably holding one or more bottles in an inverted position for draining the contents of any so held bottle into the receptacle, said holder having a central portion of circular cross section, an outer annular portion and an annular intermediate portion joining the central portion and the outer portion, said intermediate portion including openings circumferentially spaced and dimensioned to limit passage of bottles to a predetermined depth, said central portion and said outer portion including upwardly extending slanted guide walls coacting to hold a bottle extended with its neck portion through one of the openings in a slanted position relative to the lengthwise center axis of the receptacle; generally radially oriented partition walls dividing an annular space defined by said center portion, said outer portion and said intermediate portion into compartments each including one of said openings, said partition walls constituting lateral guide walls for bottles inserted into said compartments and protruding through the openings; discharge means at the bottom end of the receptacle, said discharge means including actuating means for selectively opening and closing said discharge means; and support means secured to said receptacle for supporting the same in upright position on a support base, spaced apart therefrom.
 2. The device according to claim 1 wherein said central portion comprises a continuous peripheral wall defining a generally frustoconical structure in longitudinal cross section and the outer portion comprises a continuous peripheral wall defining a generally frustoconical structure in longitudinal cross section, the narrow end of the central portion facing upwardly and the narrow end of the outer portion facing downwardly with reference to the bottom end of the receptacle, said intermediate portion being in the form of an annular ring joining the narrow end of the outer portion to the wide end of the central portion.
 3. The device according to claim 2 wherein said outer portion has along the rim of its wide end a peripheral outwardly extending flange, and comprising fastening means for detachably securing said flange to the rim at the open end of the receptacle.
 4. The device according to claim 1 and comprising a lid for closing the open end of the receptacle.
 5. The device according to claim 1 wherein said discharge means comprise a slide valve means included in the bottom of the receptacle; said valve means including a discharge spout and a slide including an opening matching the cross-sectional area of the spout, said slide being displaceable between a position covering said spout and a position uncovering the same. 